Fuel supply apparatus

ABSTRACT

A fuel supply apparatus includes an electric pump, a control circuit, a lid component, and a connection component. The electric pump has a pressure raising part which raises a pressure of fuel in a fuel tank. The control circuit controls electric power supplied to the electric pump, and is arranged on the lid component. The connection component connects the lid component and the electric pump with each other, and defines a communicating path inside. A fuel outlet part of the electric pump and a circulation space of the lid component communicate with each other through the communicating path defined in the connection component.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-46101filed on Mar. 2, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a fuel supply apparatus.

BACKGROUND

JP-2005-155602A (US 2005/0100461) describes a fuel supply apparatuswhich supplies fuel discharged from a fuel pump to a cooling passagedefined in a flange so as to cool a control circuit disposed on theflange.

In JP-2005-155602A, a tube is provided between the fuel pump and theflange so as to supply fuel to the cooling passage. Further, a connectoris provided between the fuel pump and the flange to connect the fuelpump and the flange with each other. That is, both of the connector andthe tube are provided between the flange and the fuel pump, so thestructure of the fuel supply apparatus becomes complicated.

SUMMARY

According to an example of the present disclosure, a fuel supplyapparatus supplying fuel from a fuel tank to a fuel-consuming deviceincludes an electric pump, a control circuit, a lid component, and aconnection component. The electric pump is disposed in the fuel tank,and includes a pressure raising part which raises a pressure of the fuelin the fuel tank, and a fuel outlet part which flows out the fuel havingthe pressure raised by the pressure raising part. The control circuitcontrols electric power supplied to the electric pump. The lid componentcovers an opening of the fuel tank, and has a circulation part and aninstallation part. The circulation part defines a circulation space inwhich the fuel flowing from the fuel outlet part circulates. Theinstallation part has a first surface facing the circulation space, anda second surface to which the control circuit is arranged. Theconnection component is formed into a cylindrical shape to connect thelid component and the electric pump with each other, and defines acommunicating path inside. The fuel outlet part and the circulationspace communicate with each other through the communicating path.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In thedrawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a fuel supply apparatusaccording to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the fuel supplyapparatus of the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating the fuel supply apparatus of thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a pump unit of thefuel supply apparatus of the first embodiment; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a fuel supply apparatusaccording to a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereafterreferring to drawings. In the embodiments, a part that corresponds to amatter described in a preceding embodiment may be assigned with the samereference numeral, and redundant explanation for the part may beomitted. When only a part of a configuration is described in anembodiment, another preceding embodiment may be applied to the otherparts of the configuration. The parts may be combined even if it is notexplicitly described that the parts can be combined. The embodiments maybe partially combined even if it is not explicitly described that theembodiments can be combined, provided there is no harm in thecombination.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line I-I ofFIG. 3, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along aline II-II of FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 1, a fuel supply apparatus 100 ismounted in a fuel tank 200 for a vehicle, and supplies fuel to aninternal combustion engine 300 (fuel-consuming device) outside the fueltank 200. An up-and-down direction in FIGS. 1 and 2 substantiallycorresponds to a vertical direction when the vehicle is located on aplane surface.

The fuel supply apparatus 100 has a flange 10, a subtank 20, a covering30, an adjustment mechanism 40, a pump unit 50, a residual quantitydetecting element 70, and a controller 80. The subtank 20, the covering30, the adjustment mechanism 40, the pump unit 50, and the residualquantity detecting element 70 are arranged at specified positions,respectively, in the fuel tank 200.

The flange 10 is made of resin, and has a disc shape, as shown in FIG.3. The flange 10 is fitted with an opening 200 b defined in a top plate200 a of the fuel tank 200, and closes the opening 200 b. The flange 10has a fix portion 11 to which a pillar 41 of the adjustment mechanism 40is fixed. Further, the flange 10 has an installation part 13 above thefix portion 11, and a control circuit 81 of the controller 80 is mountedto the installation part 13.

As shown in FIG. 1, the flange 10 has a fuel delivery tube 14 and anelectric connector 15. The fuel delivery tube 14 supplies fueldischarged from the pump unit 50 to the engine 300 outside the fuel tank200. The electric connector 15 includes a terminal for making electricconnection between the residual quantity detecting element 70 andoutside. Thereby, the residual quantity detection signal of the residualquantity detecting element 70 is outputted to the outside through theelectric connector 15.

The subtank 20 is made of resin, and has a based cylinder shape. Thesubtank 20 is accommodated in the fuel tank 200, and is located on abottom 200 c of the fuel tank 200. A jet pump 21 is arranged on a bottom20 a of the subtank 20. The jet pump 21 has an introductory passage 22and a jet nozzle 23. The introductory passage 22 causes the inside ofthe fuel tank 200 and the inside of the subtank 20 to communicate witheach other. The jet nozzle 23 injects fuel discharged from a pressureregulator 68 of the pump unit 50 toward the introductory passage 22.When the fuel is injected, a negative pressure lower than an atmosphericpressure occurs in the introductory passage 22. Therefore, fuel in thefuel tank 200 is transported into the subtank 20 through theintroductory passage 22. The subtank 20 stores the fuel.

The covering 30 is made of resin, and has a based cylinder shape. Thecovering 30 is arranged in a manner that a base part of the covering 30is located on the upper side. An opening edge of the covering 30 isfitted with an opening edge of the subtank 20. Thereby, the opening ofthe subtank 20 is closed by the covering 30. The covering 30 has a firstholding part 31, a second holding part 32 and an accommodation part 33.The first holding part 31 holds the pump unit 50 in the fuel tank 200,and the second holding part 32 holds the residual quantity detectingelement 70 in the fuel tank 200. The accommodation part 33 has a basedcylinder shape and accommodates the pillar 41.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the adjustment mechanism 40 has anintermediate part 42 and an elastic component 45 in addition to thepillar 41. The pillar 41 is made of metal, and has a long cylindricalshape. The pillar 41 is inserted in the accommodation part 33, and isslidaly movable in the axial direction relative to the accommodationpart 33.

The intermediate part 42 is made of resin, and has a double tube shape.The intermediate part 42 is coaxially accommodated by the accommodationpart 33 in a state where the pillar 41 is inserted between an inner tube43 and an outer tube 44 of the intermediate part 42. An engaging nail 43a is projected from the inner tube 43, and engages with the pillar 41,thereby fixing the intermediate part 42 to a lower end part 41 b of thepillar 41.

Moreover, the intermediate part 42 is slidingly fitting to a doublethread 33 a extended in the axial direction on the inner circumferenceface of the accommodation part 33. Thus, the intermediate part 42 isregulated from having relative rotation in the circumference directionand is allowed to have axial movement relative to the accommodation part33. The subtank 20, the covering 30, the pump unit 50, and the residualquantity detecting element 70 are integrated with each other and aremovable in the axial direction relative to the pillar 41 and notrotatable in the circumference direction of the pillar 41.

The pillar 41 is fixed to the fix portion 11 when an engaging nail 11 gprojected from the fix portion 11 is engaged with an upper end 41 a ofthe pillar 41. Thus, a unit is constructed by integrating the flange 10,the subtank 20, the covering 30, the pump unit 50, and the residualquantity detecting element 70 which are connected with each otherthrough the pillar 41.

A lower part of the pump unit 50 is accommodated in the subtank 20, andan upper part of the pump unit 50 is projected from the covering 30. Asshown in

FIG. 4, the pump unit 50 has an electric pump 54, a suction filter 51, afuel filter 61, a flexible tube 67 in addition to the pressure regulator68 and the residual quantity detecting element 70.

The electric pump 54 is located on the upper side of the suction filter51, and has an inlet port 54 a, a discharge port 54 b and a vaporexhaust port 54 c. The inlet port 54 a and the vapor exhaust port 54 cface downward, and the discharge port 54 b faces upward. As shown inFIG. 2, the electric pump 54 has a pressure raising part 55 which raisesa pressure of the fuel drawn from the inlet port 54 a.

The pressure raising part 55 has a rotation member 56 and a pump chamber57. The rotation member 56 is driven by an electric motor 58 and isaccommodated in the pump chamber 57 which communicates with the inletport 54 a, the discharge port 54 b and the vapor exhaust port 54 c. Therotation member 56 is a disc-shaped impeller having plural blade groovesarranged in the circumference direction, and is located inside the pumpchamber 57 in a state where the axis direction substantially correspondswith the up-and-down direction.

The electric motor 58 is electrically connected with the control circuit81 of the controller 80 through a flexible wiring 60 which can be bentflexibly. The electric motor 58 rotates the rotation member 56 usingelectric power supplied from the control circuit 81. When the rotationmember 56 is rotated, fuel is drawn from the inlet port 54 a through thesuction filter 51 into the subtank 20. Further, the pressure of fuel israised the blade groove of the rotation member 56 in the pump chamber57, and the pressure-raised fuel is discharged from the discharge port54 b.

Moreover, vapor (air) occurs in the fuel drawn from the inlet port 54 a,because of the rotation of the rotation member 56. The air, whichaffects the pressure raising, is discharged with the fuel from the vaporexhaust port 54 c communicating with the pump chamber 57.

The suction filter 51 is located on the most bottom part of the pumpunit 50. The suction filter 51 is connected with the inlet port 54 a ofthe electric pump 54, and removes a relatively large foreign matter fromfuel to be drawn by the electric pump 54 from the subtank 20.

The suction filter 51 has a core component 52 and a filter-medium sheet53. The core component 52 is made of resin, and has a based cylindershape. The filter-medium sheet 53 covers the outer side of the corecomponent 52. A portion of the electric pump 54 having the inlet port 54a, the vapor exhaust port 54 c and the pump chamber 57 is coaxiallyaccommodated on the inner circumference side of the peripheral wall ofthe core component 52. In this state, an upper end of the peripheralwall of the core component 52 is mounted to a filter case 62 of the fuelfilter 61.

Moreover, a fuel passage connected to the inlet port 54 a penetrates thebottom wall part of the core component 52. Furthermore, a dischargepassage 52 a also penetrates a center section of the bottom wall partaround the fuel passage. Due to the discharge passage 52 a, fuel locatedbetween the lower end part of the electric pump 54 and the bottom wallpart of the core component 52 flows downward. Thereby, the fuel in thepressure raising state, which contains air, is discharged from the vaporexhaust port 54 c between the lower end part of the electric pump 54 andthe bottom wall part of the core component 52, and then is dischargedfrom the discharge passage 52 a.

The filter-medium sheet 53 may be constructed by, for example, fibrousnonwoven cloth having single layer or multi layers, mesh cloth, orfilter paper. Alternatively, the filter-medium sheet 53 may beconstructed by layering at least two kinds of the nonwoven cloth, themesh cloth, and the filter paper. The filter-medium sheet 53 is arrangedto cover the outer side of the core component 52. Moreover, a clearanceis generated between the core component 52 and the peripheral wall partand the bottom wall part of the filter-medium sheet 53 in the statewhere the filter-medium sheet 53 covers the outer side of the corecomponent 52. Furthermore, the filter-medium sheet 53 has a holedefining the discharge passage 52 a. The filter-medium sheet 53 is fixedto the core component 52 made of resin by welding or bonding.

Fuel drawn from the inside of the subtank 20 toward the inlet port 54 aof the electric pump 54 is filtered by the filter-medium sheet 53 of thesuction filter 51, and is led to the inlet port 54 a through the fuelpassage of the core component 52. Furthermore, fuel discharged from thevapor exhaust port 54 c is discharged outside from the discharge passage52 a after staying between the bottom wall part and the electric pump 54in the core component 52.

The fuel filter 61 is arranged to cover the electric pump 54 from theouter circumference side and the upper side. The filter case 62 of thefuel filter 61 is made of resin, and has a double tube constructed by aninner pipe 63 and an outer pipe 64. The electric pump 54 is coaxiallyarranged on the inner circumference side of the inner pipe 63. A filterelement 65 of the fuel filter 61 is made of, for example, ahoneycomb-shaped filter medium which is accommodated between the innerpipe 63 and the outer pipe 64.

A space between the inner pipe 63 and the outer pipe 64 communicateswith the discharge port 54 b of the electric pump 54 on the upstreamside of the filter element 65 in the fuel flow, and communicates with afuel outlet 66 of the fuel filter 61 on the downstream side of thefilter element 65 in the fuel flow. The fuel outlet 66 is connected withthe fuel delivery tube 14 through a flexible tube 67 which can be bentflexibly. Thus, fuel discharged from the discharge port 54 b is suppliedto the fuel delivery tube 14 from the fuel outlet 66 with a state whereminute foreign matters has been removed by the filter element 65.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pressure regulator 68 is located adjacent to theside of the fuel filter 61 in the pump unit 50. The pressure regulator68 is connected with the fuel outlet 66 of the fuel filter 61, and apart of the fuel to be supplied to the fuel delivery tube 14 flows intothe pressure regulator 68. Thereby, the pressure regulator 68 controlsthe pressure of fuel flowing toward the fuel delivery tube 14, anddischarges the surplus fuel generated at the pressure controlling timeto the jet nozzle 23 of the jet pump 21.

As shown in FIG. 1, the residual quantity detecting element 70 isarranged outside of the subtank 20 by being held by the holding part 32of the covering 30. The residual quantity detecting element 70 is, forexample, made of a sensor gauge, and is electrically connected with theterminal of the electric connector 15 through a flexible wiring 72 whichcan be bent flexibly. When electric power is supplied from the terminal,the residual quantity detecting element 70 detects the fuel residualquantity in the fuel tank 200 based on rotation angle of an arm 71 whichis integrally provided with a float floating in fuel in the fuel tank200.

The controller 80 is arranged outside of the fuel tank 200 and isprovided to the flange 10. The controller 80 has the control circuit 81and a covering 82. The control circuit 81 controls the electric powersupply to the electric pump 54. The control circuit 81 is disposed onthe installation part 13 of the flange 10. The covering 82 is providedto the flange 10 to cover the control circuit 81.

The covering 82 is made of resin, and, as shown in FIG. 2, has anelectric connector 83 which communicates with outside by exchangingsignals such as control signal for controlling the electric power supplyto the electric pump 54. The electric connector 83 includes a terminalfor electrically connecting the control circuit 81 with the outside. Thecontrol circuit 81 is constructed by an integrated circuit (IC),capacitor, etc., and controls the electric power supply to the electricpump 54 based on the control signal received through the terminal of theelectric connector 83.

Details of the flange 10, the adjustment mechanism 40, and the pump unit50 will be explained.

The flange 10 has the installation part 13 and the fix portion 11. Theinstallation part 13 is made of polyacetal (POM) as a base material,which contains glass fiber, ferrite powder, etc. having a heatconductivity higher than that of the POM. The installation part 13 hasthe rectangle shape, as shown in FIG. 3, and the control circuit 81 isdisposed on the second surface 13 b of the installation part 13 outsidethe fuel tank 200.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the first surface 13 a of theinstallation part 13 inside the fuel tank 200 faces the circulationspace 12. Moreover, the first surface 13 a has a fin 13 c projecteddownward. For example, the fin 13 c has a grid pattern in the firstembodiment.

The fix portion 11 is made of POM and has a concave portion 11 a and apipe part 11 f. The concave portion 11 a is formed under theinstallation part 13. The concave portion 11 a has a pipe wall 11 b anda bottom wall 11 c. The pipe wall 11 b is projected in a cylindricalshape downward from the peripheral edge part of the fin 13 c. The bottomwall 11 c covers the lower end part of the pipe wall 11 b.

The concave portion 11 a has an opening part 11 d, and the installationpart 13 is arranged to cover the opening part 11 d. The opening part 11d and the installation part 13 are joined with each other by welding.Due to the installation part 13 and the fix portion 11, the circulationspace 12 is defined inside the concave portion 11 a, that is, thecirculation space 12 is defined on the inner circumference space of thepipe wall 11 b.

The pipe part 11 f extends downward from the bottom wall 11 c. Theinside space of the concave portion 11 a communicates with an outsidespace of the fix portion 11 through the pipe part 11 f. The upper end 41a of the pillar 41 is press-fitted into the pipe part 11 f. The pipepart 11 f has the engaging nail 11 g which engages with the pillar 41,when the upper end 41 a is press-fitted. Moreover, the bottom wall 11 chas a communication hole 11 e through which the circulation space 12 andthe inside space of the fuel tank 200 communicate with each other, andthe communication hole 11 e is located adjacent to the pipe part 11 f.

The adjustment mechanism 40 will be described in details. The pillar 41has a communicating path 41 c inside to introduce fuel to thecirculation space 12 of the fix portion 11. The pillar 41 is providedcoaxially with the pipe part 11 f of the fix portion 11. The inner tube43, which is placed on the inner circumference side of the pillar 41,has a bottom part 43 b. The bottom part 43 b has a cylindrical supportpart 43 c extending from the bottom part 43 b toward the bottom 33 b ofthe accommodation part 33.

The support part 43 c supports the upper end of the elastic component45. The bottom 33 b of the accommodation part 33 has a cylindricalsupport part 33 c extending toward the bottom part 43 b of the innertube 43. The support part 33 c supports the lower end part of theelastic component 45. Due to the inner tube 43 and the accommodationpart 33, a predetermined space is defined between the bottom part 43 bof the inner tube 43 and the bottom 33 b of the accommodation part 33.The predetermined space communicates with the inside of the pillar 41through the support part 43 c, and communicates with the subtank 20through the support part 33 c. That is, the communicating path 41 ccommunicates with the inside of the subtank 20 through the space betweenthe bottom part 43 b and the bottom 33 b.

The pump unit 50 will be described in details. As shown in FIG. 2, thepump unit 50 has a flexible tube 69 which can be bent flexibly. An endof the flexible tube 69 is connected to the discharge passage 52 a, andthe other end is connected to the support part 33 c. Thereby, fuelcontaining the air flows from the discharge passage 52 a into theaccommodation part 33 through the flexible tube 69.

When a person inputs a signal to start the combustion engine 300, acontrol device of the combustion engine 300 outputs a control signal tostart the fuel supply apparatus 100. When the control signal is inputinto the controller 80, the control circuit 81 supplies electric powerto the electric pump 54 based on the inputted control signal, therebydriving the electric pump 54 to rotate the rotation member 56. Fuel isdrawn from the inlet port 54 a, and the pressure of the fuel in the pumpchamber 57 is raised. The fuel filter 61 removes a foreign matter fromthe fuel discharged from the discharge port 54 b after the pressure israised in the pump chamber 57, and the pressure of the fuel iscontrolled by the pressure regulator 68. Then, the fuel is supplied tothe combustion engine 300 from the fuel delivery tube 14.

The fuel supplied to the combustion engine 300 from the fuel deliverytube 14 is changed depending on the operational status of the combustionengine 300. For example, when the combustion engine 300 is in idoloperational status, the fuel consumption amount of the combustion engine300 is smaller than that in a state where the vehicle is accelerated.Therefore, most of the fuel supplied from the electric pump 54 isdischarged into the subtank 20 rather than the pressure regulator 68. Atthis time, the fuel whose pressure is in the raising state andcontaining air is also discharged from the vapor exhaust port 54 c. Acertain amount of the fuel is discharged from the vapor exhaust port 54c, not depending on the fuel consumption amount of the combustion engine300.

The fuel discharged from the vapor exhaust port 54 c flows into theflexible tube 69 through the discharge passage 52 a. The fuel flows intothe space between the accommodation part 33 and the intermediate part42, and reaches the communicating path 41 c of the pillar 41.Furthermore, the fuel which reached the communicating path 41 c flowsinto the circulation space 12 through the pipe part 11 f of the fixportion 11. The fuel containing air and flowing into the circulationspace 12 is discharged from the communication hole 11 e. Thereby, a flowof the fuel is generated in the circulation space 12.

When the fuel flowing into the circulation space 12 contacts the fin 13c of the installation part 13, heat generated in the control circuit 81will be absorbed by the fuel, so the control circuit 81 will be cooled.Then, the fuel is discharged from the communication hole 11 e with air.

According to the first embodiment, the fuel pumped from the electricpump 54 is introduced into the circulation space 12 defined in theflange 10 through the communicating path 41 c partitioned by the pillar41. Therefore, a passage portion such as tube, which introduces fuelfrom the electric pump 54 to the circulation space 12, can beeliminated. Thus, the control circuit 81 which is disposed on the flange10 can be cooled with the simple and easy structure.

Because the communication hole 11 e is defined in the fix portion 11,the flow of fuel can be generated in the circulation space 12, thus, thefuel flowing into the circulation space 12 can be restricted fromstaying in the circulation space 12. Thus, the control circuit 81 can besecurely cooled.

Moreover, the second surface 13 b of the installation part 13 facing thecirculation space 12 has the fin 13 c. Therefore, the surface area ofthe second surface 13 b can be increased. As a result, the coolingproperty can be raised.

Furthermore, the heat mover whose heat conductivity is higher than thatof the base material (POM) of the installation part 13 is mixed in thePOM, so the heat exchanging performance can be increased. As a result,the cooling efficiency can be raised. Moreover, the same resin (POM) isused for the base material of the installation part 13 and the fixportion 11. Therefore, the connection strength between the installationpart 13 and the fix portion 11 can be raised to define the circulationspace 12. Therefore, the sealing property of the circulation space 12can be raised.

Furthermore, the vapor fuel (fuel containing air) is introduced from thevapor exhaust port 54 c to the circulation space 12 while the pressureof fuel is being raised, at this time, a predetermined discharge amountof fuel is secured irrespective of the fuel consumption amount of thecombustion engine 300. Therefore, the cooling effect is securableirrespective of the fuel consumption amount of the combustion engine300.

The vapor exhaust port 54 c discharges a part of the fuel whose pressureis being raised such that air is contained in the fuel. Generally, acommon electric pump secures the increase in the pressure of the fuel bydischarging the fuel containing air. Whenever the electric pump isdriven, the fuel containing air is generated regardless of the fuelconsumption amount of the engine 300.

Moreover, the fuel flowing out of the circulation space 12 through thecommunication hole 11 e contacts the external wall surfaces 41 d of thepillar 41, and then flows downward along the external wall surface 41 d.Thus, the fuel which flowed into the circulation space 12 is dischargedfrom the communication hole 11 e. Therefore, the fuel in the fuel tank200 can be restricted from being foamed, compared with a case where thefuel directly falls into the fuel in the fuel tank 200.

The communication hole 11 e has the hole size in a manner that theamount of fuel discharged from the communication hole 11 e becomeslarger than or equal to the amount of the vapor fuel discharged from thevapor exhaust port 54 c. Therefore, fuel can be appropriately dischargedfrom the vapor exhaust port 54 c with reliability. Thus, air whichaffects the pressure raising in the pump chamber 57 can be suitablydischarged from the electric pump 54, so the pressure-raising propertyof the electric pump 54 can be secured.

The flange 10 may correspond to a lid component, and the fix portion 11may correspond to a circulation part. The pillar 41 may correspond to aconnection component. The vapor exhaust port 54 c may correspond to afuel outlet part and a vapor fuel discharge part.

Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment, the control circuit 81 is cooled by introducingthe fuel discharged from the vapor exhaust port 54 c to the circulationspace 12. In contrast, in a second embodiment, a fuel supply apparatus100 a cools the control circuit 81 by introducing fuel from the fueloutlet 66 to the circulation space 12.

The second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5. Asshown in FIG. 5, in the fuel supply apparatus 100 a, the pillar 41 ispress-fitted to the pipe part 11 f of the flange 10. Further, an end ofa flexible tube 67 a is connected to the lower end part 41 b of thepillar 41. The other end of the flexible tube 67 a is connected to thefuel outlet 66. Moreover, the flange 10 has a fuel passage 16 (fueldelivery part) through which the fuel delivery tube 14 and thecirculation space 12 communicate with each other.

According to the second embodiment, the fuel flowing from the dischargeport 54 b of the electric pump 54 flows into the communicating path 41 cof the pillar 41 through the fuel outlet 66 and the flexible tube 67 a.The fuel flows into the circulation space 12 of the flange 10, and coolsthe control circuit 81. Then, the fuel is supplied to the combustionengine 300 through the fuel passage 16 and the fuel delivery tube 14.Therefore, a passage portion such as tube, which introduces fuel out ofthe fuel tank 200 from the electric pump 54, can be eliminated, so as tosupply the fuel to the combustion engine 300. Thus, the structure of thefuel supply apparatus 100 a can be simplified.

In the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the fin 13c may be formed in the installation part 13, and the heat mover withhigh heat conductivity may be mixed in the base material (POM) of theinstallation part 13.

Furthermore, the fix portion 11 and the installation part 13 may bewelded with each other by using the same resin material as basematerial, so as to raise the connection strength. In the secondembodiment, fuel is introduced into the circulation space 12 from thefuel outlet 66 where the fuel pressure is higher than that of the vaporfuel of the first embodiment. However, in this case, the sealingproperty of the circulation space 12 is securable by raising theconnection strength.

In the second embodiment, the discharge port 54 b may correspond to afuel outlet part and a fuel discharge part.

Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being within thescope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fuel supply apparatus supplying fuel from afuel tank to a fuel-consuming device comprising: an electric pumpdisposed in the fuel tank, the electric pump including a pressureraising part which raises a pressure of the fuel in the fuel tank, and afuel outlet part which flows out the fuel having the pressure raised bythe pressure raising part; a control circuit which controls electricpower supplied to the electric pump; a lid component which covers anopening of the fuel tank, the lid component having a circulation partwhich defines a circulation space in which the fuel flowing from thefuel outlet part circulates, and an installation part having a firstsurface facing the circulation space, and a second surface to which thecontrol circuit is arranged; and a connection component formed into acylindrical shape to connect the lid component and the electric pumpwith each other, the connection component defining a communicating pathinside, the fuel outlet part and the circulation space communicatingwith each other through the communicating path.
 2. The fuel supplyapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fuel outlet part is a vaporfuel discharge part which discharges a part of the fuel having thepressure raised by the pressure raising part with air contained in fuelin the pressure raising part.
 3. The fuel supply apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein the circulation part has a communication hole throughwhich the circulation space and an interior space of the fuel tankcommunicate with each other.
 4. The fuel supply apparatus according toclaim 3, wherein the communication hole is located at a position in amanner that fuel discharged from the communication hole contacts anexternal wall surface of the connection component.
 5. The fuel supplyapparatus according to claim 3, wherein the communication hole has asize in a manner that an amount of fuel discharged from thecommunication hole becomes larger than or equal to an amount of fueldischarged from the vapor fuel discharge part.
 6. The fuel supplyapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first surface of theinstallation part has a heat exchange fin.
 7. The fuel supply apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the lid component is made of a resinmaterial, and the installation part includes a heat mover materialhaving a heat conductivity which is higher than a heat conductivity ofthe resin material.
 8. The fuel supply apparatus according to claim 7,wherein the circulation part and the installation part are made of thesame resin material.
 9. The fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the fuel outlet part is a fuel discharge part which dischargesthe fuel having the pressure raised by the pressure raising part towardthe fuel-consuming device, the lid component has a fuel delivery partconnected with the fuel-consuming device, and the circulation part isconnected with the fuel delivery part.